THE STORY OF HZ. OMAR AND HZ. ABBAS' GUTTER

During his caliphate (13-23/634-644), Hz. Omar purchased or requested some structures around the Prophet's Mosque as part of the expansion efforts. Some parts of the house belonging to Hz. Abbas b. Abd al-Muttalib, the uncle of the Prophet, were also obstructing the expansion of the mosque. According to the narration in the sources, when Hz. Omar wanted to expand the Prophet's Mosque, he approached Hz. Abbas and asked him to either sell his house, donate it, or vacate it in exchange for another house that he would build for him elsewhere. Hz. Abbas did not accept any of these offers. To resolve the dispute between the two parties, Ubayy b. Ka'b was chosen as an arbitrator. Ubayy b. Ka'b reminded them of a story from the time of Hz. Solomon regarding the construction of the Temple of Solomon and stated that property could not be expropriated without the owner's consent. In some narrations, it is mentioned that Hz. Omar had a disagreement with Hz. Abbas regarding the eaves of the Prophet's Mosque. Hz. Omar wanted to remove the eaves that cast a shadow over the mosque; however, Hz. Abbas refused, claiming that the eaves were placed by the Prophet himself. The issue was resolved through the mediation of Hz. Ali and the determination that the eaves were from the time of the Prophet. This event holds an important place in the history of Islamic law for several reasons: Firstly, it demonstrates that even the caliphate cannot arbitrarily intervene in an individual's property rights. Additionally, it provides a concrete example of the use of arbitration in resolving disputes during the time of the companions. Finally, it shows how decisive the practices attributed to the Prophet were during the time of the companions. [Source: TDV Islamic Encyclopedia, "Abbas" article, islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/abbas--sahabi; Bukhari, Istisqa 3; Muslim, Zakat 11]